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Black men get longer prison sentences than white men for same crimes: study

African-American men serve prison sentences that are on average almost 20 percent longer than those served by white men for similar crimes, according to a study released Tuesday by the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

The group's analysis of sentencing data for whites and blacks between the years 2008 and 2016 revealed that black men serve sentences that are on average 19.1 percent longer than the average length of sentences for white men.

The disparity, the commission says, cannot be explained by whether offenders have a history of violence.

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"After controlling for a wide variety of sentencing factors, the Commission found that Black male offenders continued to receive longer sentences than similarly situated White male offenders, and that female offenders of all races received shorter sentences than White male offenders," reads the study's conclusion.

"It is a core principle that prosecutors should charge and pursue the most serious, readily provable offense," Sessions wrote in a memo in May. "This policy affirms our responsibility to enforce the law, is moral and just, and produces consistency."

The move was condemned by criminal justice reform advocates, who have seen the majority of their efforts stymied by the Justice Department under Sessions.